1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a compact electronic document storage device which may be carried by people or animals. More specifically, the present invention relates to an electronic data storage device used for dynamic information storage and retrieval of text and documents.
2. Prior Art
Original medical and veterinary data and images are typically kept on paper or photographic media. While individuals may obtain copies of such records from health care and veterinary providers, these records may not be centrally located.
Even if a bearer can locate all such records and obtain copies of the originals on the same media, they are cumbersome and may be easily damaged. When people or animals travel away from their primary domicile, they may need access to their medical or veterinary records, but carrying all of the records with them wherever they go is impractical. This is especially true for people or animals engaging in rigorous physical activities such as sports, firefighting, police work, and military combat.
Furthermore, there is no widely-accepted standard way of organizing documents so that medical and veterinary professionals know where to quickly place or retrieve needed documents.
In order to provide background information so that the invention may be completely understood and appreciated in its proper context, reference is made to a number of prior art patents, publications, and information as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,958,690 is a medical information and medication package with folding card and printed instructions in an envelope. While useful, this invention is easily damaged and hard to carry and it is not intended to be worn as a jewelry item.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,763, a biomedical information card and method of making, refers to a kit so that individuals can create their own emergency medical data card which is "slightly smaller than a credit card" and is "attached to a blank rigid plastic card". U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,171,039 and 4,745,268 refer to "wallet-size" cards. U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,653 is a portable data carrier for "individual medical and/or banking records" which "looks and feels much like an ordinary credit card." Again, these are easily damaged and are not intended to be worn as a jewelry item.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,725 is a medical insurance verification and processing system which reads a "medical information card (MEDICARD)" to "determine a patient's background medical and insurance information." This system is specifically for insurance processing and specific reference is made to transmitting information to a "central brokerage computer". The card does not necessarily carry complete patient records and images for the bearer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,038 is a "universal electronic transaction card" which is capable of serving as a number of different cards including "credit cards, bank cards, identification cards, employee cards, medical cards, and the like." The user can press graphical images on the card to select the card type. The specific use as a medical card is not elaborated, nor its use in harsh conditions, nor its being worn as jewelry.
Credit-card-size emergency medical cards may be used to store medical data as printed text and images on plastic and paper media and the like, but they are limited in the amount of printed area, are easily damaged, and such cards are not easily distinguishable from other cards carried by the bearer. Credit-card and wallet-size devices are not easily worn as jewelry.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,665 is an identification locket with "an information bearing card " in a substantially reduced form" and which has a magnifying lens. While it can be worn as jewelry, magnifying devices are needed and the amount of information stored on the card is still very limited. Further, this invention is not necessarily for harsh environments.
Emergency medical tags and pet tags indicating critical medical conditions and personal data may be worn, typically on a necklace, collar, bracelet, or wristband, but only a small amount of data may be displayed on the surface of such tags.
Images of medical documents may be reduced and stored on microfilm. U.S. Pat No. 4,259,391 is an identification card with transparent laminate using microfilm. Microfilm cards may be carried as is or attached to emergency medical cards, but such film is easily damaged. In addition, reading microfilm images generally requires an optical magnifying device.
The aforementioned medical cards, tags, and microfilm cannot be easily reused. When the relevant data changes, a new card, tag, or microfilm image is needed.
Documents containing only text may be manually converted to electronic text format or by using optical character reader (OCR) devices or OCR computer software.
Documents and images may be scanned into electronic image format and stored in electronic files. Typical formats for these image files are BMP (bitmap), JPEG, and GIF, though there are many other formats.
Electronic files may reside in a single electronic directory or organized in multiple directories. Each directory folder may be named to indicate which type of electronic files are stored therein. However, there is no standard or widely recognized format for an electronic directory structure for organizing medical or veterinary files carried by the owner to whom the files pertain.
Once in electronic format, files may be saved on mass data storage devices, such as disk drives and magnetic tape. The files may be transferred to floppy diskettes or magnetic tape reels and cartridges, but these are still generally too large for personal conveyance as they will not fit easily in a wallet or purse, nor can they be easily worn like jewelry on a necklace or bracelet.
In addition, disk drives, diskettes and tapes are generally susceptible to damage. Protective containers and ruggedization schemes only serve to make them more unwieldy.
Medical research efforts often require collecting medical history and data from a large set of human beings. A unique medical identification number, similar to a Social Security Account Number (SSAN) number has been proposed to provide a means for collecting data; however, such an identification system is intrusive to personal privacy and assigns unnecessary control to government bureaucracy. A means of quickly collecting medical history from a large number of subjects without compromising personal privacy is needed.
Research and businesses involving animals often involve tagging animals. Transmitters and numeric tags are attached to the animal with a strap, or by puncturing the skin, or by other suitable means. However, transmitters may quit functioning due to power loss or damage, and tags contain only a small amount of written data. For larger animals, a diskette or tape cartridge, for example, could be placed in a protective container and attached to the animal; however, for smaller animals, such as migratory birds and fish, attaching a diskette or tape cassette would severely impede the animal's normal activities.
Electronic files on diskettes and disk drives may be accidentally erased, overwritten, or intentionally accessed without the permission of the owner. Floppy diskettes sometimes have a write "protect" switch. Some computer operating systems and file systems allow for protections to be set for particular electronic files or directories. These protections can require passwords for accessing protected files and directories.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,325,294 is a medical privacy system which uses an identification card with a photograph or holographic image and a "visually perceptible" "first identification number" which is associated with a "confidential second identification number" on a computer database. This system associates two numbers, but does not use data encryption nor file system password protections. Further it specifies that the actual data is available via a "telephonic readout" implying that the data is not on or in the card itself. Further, there is no tissue sample of the bearer for DNA, blood type, or other physical comparison for positive identification.
Data may be stored on electronic memory cards. U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,898 is for a "personal memory card the size of a standard plastic credit card." This device receives power from an external signal.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,970,996 is an apparatus for collecting medical data which basically collects data from an ID card and prints it. There is no provision for use in harsh conditions. Further, neither the size of the card nor for the amounts and types of data stored on the card are specified. There is no provision for use on common personal computers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,744 is for a medical service workstation and includes an "optical card carried by the patient" and read through an ISDN interface. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,708,851 is a system for managing medical information using a "hybrid card" with an "optical stripe." U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,429 utilizes a memory card for transferring data between operating room equipment. These cards are not intended for harsh conditions, for storage of complete medical records and images, nor for personal use, nor for wear as a jewelry item.
Small electronic storage devices have been invented for storing electronic images taken with digital cameras. Commonly called "flash memory", these devices come in four standard types: PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association),CompactFlash.TM. (CF.TM.) (by SanDisk Corporation), Miniature Card (by Intel.RTM. Corp.), and SmartMedia.TM. (also known as SSFDC) (by Toshiba).
The largest of these is PCMCIA, which is credit-card size. All PCMCIA cards have a standard length and width (85.6 mm.times.54.0 mm, or 3.3 inches.times.2.13 inches), but have different thicknesses: Type I is 3.3 mm, Type II is 5.0 mm, and Type III is 10.5 mm thick. All three types use the same type of 68-pin connector. The PCMCIA standard provides for 3.3 Volt and 5.0 Volt operation. The Type IV specification is believed to be under development and is expected to be 18.0 mm thick.
PCMCIA card reader devices are a common feature on many laptop computers, and card reader devices are available as an option on some desktop computers and palmtop computers.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,674,252 and 5,680,864 suggest a PCMCIA format card for gathering event data with a time stamp from an instrument clock. The purpose is not for personal transportation of medical files in harsh conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,293 is for data compression/decompression and makes reference to "medical information storage and retrieval" and a "SmartCard based system." The purpose of this invention was to make data fit within the limited memory of a variety of devices, and the abstract makes specific reference to "this card based system . . . from a credit-card sized instrument." Credit card sized cards may fit nicely into a wallet or purse, but are too large to be worn conveniently as jewelry items.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,399 is a portable personal database as for a hospital environment which uses memory cards. The size of these cards could be quite large and are not necessarily carried by the person to whom the card's data pertains. Further, this system is specifically for "a hospital environment", not harsh conditions.
Though they are credit-card sized, PCMCIA cards are still too large to be worn comfortably on a necklace or wristband, particularly if they are in protective containers. CompactFlash.TM., SmartMedia.TM., and Miniature Card are considerably smaller than PCMCIA devices, and are small enough to be worn comfortably; however they lack attachment points. CompactFlash.TM. cards have approximate dimensions of 45 mm.times.36 mm.times.3.3 mm (5346 cubic mm), SmartMedia.TM. have approximate dimensions of 45 mm.times.37 mm.times.0.76 mm (1265.4 cubic mm), and Intel.RTM. Miniature Card cards have approximate dimensions of 38 mm.times.33 mm.times.3.5 mm (4389 cubic mm).
Flat surfaces of such cards can be used as attachment points, but attaching directly to the card can damage it or affect its ability to be inserted into a card reader device. U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,826 is a "composite medical information and identity card" which is "permanently heat sealed". Such heating is likely to damage an electronic device.
In addition, card slots to read these devices are not generally provided on personal computers, as it would be expensive to provide all three types plus PCMCIA.
Via adapters, CompactFlash.TM., SmartMedia.TM., and Intel.RTM. Miniature Card may be used in PCMCIA card slots. All types can store electronic files compatible with personal computer operating systems. Some cards are ATA (AT Attachment, or Advanced Technology Attachment) compliant and so can be used directly with some computer operating systems. Linear (or "non-ATA") cards require special device drivers called Flash File System (FFS) or File Translation Layer (FTL) software. Because these drivers have different versions which are not always compatible with different systems, data cannot always be transferred from one device to another.
Generally, the flash memory cards are shock resistant and may provide some heat, moisture and dust resistance, but they are generally not designed for extremely dusty, sandy, corrosive, high pressure or other harsh conditions, nor for submersion in liquids. Further, electromagnetic interference (EMI) from electronic devices and electromagnetic pulses (EMP) and radiation from radioactive materials and nuclear detonations can damage the electronic files stored on a memory chip.
A further shortcoming is that there is no summary of important bearer treatment data on the exterior of the device nor on a container for the device. There is no exterior label or case which indicates that the card contains electronic medical or veterinary documents nor treatment information.
Most cards come with a blank label already affixed to the card and upon which the bearer's name and other data may be written; however, unlike a sheet of paper, the card cannot be placed in a printer for printing more complex and precise text and images.
There is no photographic image and other identifying data on the exterior of the memory cards. This disadvantage would prevent, for example, an emergency medical technician from easily distinguishing the device as a repository of medical or first aid data for the bearer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,016 is an attachment for an identification card with an "attention strip" alerting the user that information "such as medical information" is available on the rear of the card.
Whatever the precise merits, features and advantages of the above cited references, none of them achieves or fulfills the purposes of the personal electronic document storage device, directory structure, labeling, and container.